Mister John Accepted to Grad School; Rabbits Want More Food

Now that Mr. John has been accepted to Loyola Marymount for their Master of Arts in English program, the rabbits are complaining that they deserve more food. "If Mr. John thinks he is so smart," gripes Cherry Bugg, "he should be able to think of a better way to feed us!" One cage over Princess Jane pondered, "With this extra education, he should be going into a higher salary bracket soon so we should be given better cages with cable TV, air conditioning, and reclining chairs."

No comment from Mr. John or Miss Jill as of yet.

Someone Goes Potty on Quizzes; Chip Claims Innocence

This evening while Mr. John and Miss Jill were off watching a dramatic episode of The Bachelorette (oh my gosh, who lied and has a girlfriend?), someone went potty on Mr. John's period 1 and 5 quizzes. No one has admitted it but Chip was right nearby. He says he did not do it and it was all subterfuge. He says Paulie, the stuffed Dodger tiger did it since there were no games tonight and the Dodgers had lost the night before on ESPN. I have my doubts on that.

Alas, we may never know who went potty on the quizzes. But since four of the bunnies were locked up outside in cages and Cherry Bugg was snuggled in her cage in our bedroom, methinks it was the Chipper. But he does look quite innocent in that picture, doesn't he?

Guess I won't be lying on the couch tonight watching SportsCenter after all.

Meet Clyde, Our New Tree

As Jill and I become more nimble with our not-so-green thumbs, we have adopted a new tree into the household. We now have our third camphor tree. The first has always been in the front yard and the second was planted about 10 years ago and provides shade to the back corner of the house. This third camphor tree named Clyde after my grandfather (I was named after my other grandfather) and sits in the middle of the yard where an elm resided until it was uprooted to make play for an amateur radio (ham) tower in 1984.

Clyde seems to be doing quite well other than the rabbit-oriented scrapes and bruises. One brown bear by the name of Ruby Jane has been nibbling at Clyde's bark so we wrapped it in netting this afternoon. Ultimately, he will be a great shade-making addition to the backyard.

Sisterhood Strong in Backyard

Root Beer Float and Ruby Jane have released the following statement regarding the new mini-fence in the back yard which prevents them for eating the new flowers: "We, the sisters Root Beer Float and Ruby Jane, do solemnly swear under great oath of dignity that we, the aforementioned rabbits, will not participate in any rabbit-like activities, parades, or festivals until the autocratic government of Miss Jill and Mister John remove the fence of great offense which disallows said ability to hop and enjoy the variety and tastes of roses and hydrangeas thus disallowing one of the main tenets of the Rabbit Constitution which states unequivocally that 'all Rabbits should be provided with freedoms of food, liberty, and the pursuit of thumping.' That is all." The two have not responded to any queries from either the public or the local magistrates.

Bowling for Carrots

Mister John supervised a student for a Memorial Day bowling tournament. Ah... so long ago since I bowled in those same tournaments. In any event, an adult tournament also was held concurrently so "what the heck," I signed up without even socks.

While my student came in third place in his tournament, I did one better... but I received $100 for my toils. At least my bunnies are happy; they'll get more food.

Cherry Bugg Fakes Limp, Tricks Miss Jill

Another festive day at the Erb household as Cherry Bugg feigned injury to trick Miss Jill into getting more carrots. Mama Bugg also was in on the trick and later said "MEH!" when confronted with the evidence.

Meanwhile Princess Jane and Root Beer Float spent some bonding time underneath the picnic table in the back yard. Who knows what these two talk about but I am betting it isn't about how much they want to have Cherry Bugg out in the yard. I bet they are discussing how to circumvent that new wall guarding the roses. While they could easily hop it, rumor has it that there is an alarm that will go off once a furry bunny in sensed in the forbidden zone.

Great Wall of Bunny Despair

The backyard rabbits are thumping mad with the introduction of a small fence to keep them away from some of the tastier roses planted in the backyard by Miss Jill and Mister John. "This is a thumping outrage!" proclaimed Cherry Bugg as she tried to eat the roses but was instead met by a wire intrusion. "This is worse than what happened to the bunnies in Berlin!" Upon further questioning, Cherry Bugg could not identify any more upon why the bunnies in Berlin were persecuted by a fence or wall but she was sure that roses were involved.

Phillip was not humored by this site either as he said it was completely out of design with the rest of the back yard.

"I am not a chicken" proclaims Cherry Bugg

"I don't understand this perception by some individuals in the (Mr. John/Miss Jill household) that say I am a chicken," protested Cherry Bugg this afternoon. "I do not lay eggs and I cannot fly," added Cherry not knowing the chickens can't fly for long distances. Afterwards, she roosted in the far corner of Mr. John and Miss Jill's bedroom and brooded there in isolation for about three hours.

Mother's Day for Mama Bugg

Mama Bugg, the matriarch of the Bugg clan was quite in a chipper mood yesterday as her daughter Cherry Bugg as well as her granddaughters Root Beer Float and Ruby Jane visited her. Alas, the day ended poorly when Papa Bugg asked RBF for some smokes.

Mr. John and Miss Jill Return from DC

Miss Jill and I returned from DC after a seven day sojourn to the Capital. Excitement and crowds overwhelmed us for the first few days as every school-group and miscreant child ran amuck through the city. We did manage to see almost all of the important buildings in the city.

On our first day there, we decided to take a visitor trolley through the city which ended up being poor planning. Everyone in the city took it that day and it was quite crowded. Even more crowded were the Smithsonian museums. However, we did manage to make it out to the National Cathedral (right) in the morning before trekking out to the National Mall. While Jill and I have no problem taking on insuperable amounts of walking distance, we do hate the throngs of ill-behaved crowds.

We made it out to the Washington Monument many times in our daily ventures (see left).

A side note: that Metro system was so efficient that it left me wondering why LA is still dragging its feet on such a thing. We made it to most of the city. I guess the city subway planners strategically placed the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial a distance from the Metro stop to force those silly tourists to make a concerted effort. Of course they could have crowded onto a trolley. Yeah.

We only managed to climb the steps to see Lincoln (see right) once but it was definitely a great view of the Mall as well as the Capitol so far away on the opposite site.

Along with all of the Smithsonian museums, we did make it to the Supreme Court, the Capitol building, the Newseum (highly recommended), and the Folgers Shakespeare Museum. Yes, that is where I, the British lit teacher, sneak off to pay homage to the great bard Bill. Somewhere around here I have a t-shirt which I bought there. We got to DC and the only trinkets we get are the oddities.

When Jill told me that the NCAA hockey final was to be played that week in DC, I jumped at the opportunity of going. Many years back I attended the Frozen Four semifinals in Anaheim with Jeff but never made it to the title game (stupid Easter!). This time I had the opportunity to see the Miami/Boston U final which went to overtime before BU won, 4-3. It was quite an exciting game and even though Jill and I had no vested rooting interest (I represented with my North Dakota jersey), it was quite enjoyable.

Jill and I also made it to the National Zoo where we said Hello to the pandas as well as some elephants, cheetahs, and seals. Our first hotel was within a mile of the Zoo. Our second hotel in Foggy Bottom (what kind of stupid name is that?) was a little more distant from the Metro. But it did have larger elevators.
In paying due respects to our Catholicism, we rode out to the Basilica in northern DC for Easter services. Wow, that place held over 2500 people. At least that congregation was a bit more orderly than the masses in the Smithsonian.

Anyway, we spent a very spirited week seeing all the sites. Now it's time for us to settle down and relax before besieged by our respective occupations again.